At the center, Agatha is standing a few yards from the pillar, waiting patiently for people to show up. She greets Persephone with a respectful nod and smile. She does her best to ignore Dies-for-Others.

At the center, Robert pulls a watch out of his pocket. "Remind me never to count on you people for proper timing."

You head toward the center and heart of the Walk.

Center of the Caern
This area of the clearing is about 30 meters wide and is a mixture of dark soil and clay throughout, though much of it looks like it's been sodded in recent months. Near the center of the clearing, the top of a large white boulder juts out from the soil like a bone revealed after the skin of an animal has been torn away. The large rock appears to be normal stone at its base, but towards the top stone gives way to a sparkling collection of quartz crystal.
Around you, twenty yards in every direction, stretches the caern. To the southeast, a waterfall plummets over the edge of the chasm into a small pool in the caern; nearby, to the southwest, steam comes from cracks in the ground, perhaps some of the same water. Northwest, a rocky spar juts out of the ground at a low angle, showing a sloping but smooth top. The chasm walls narrow a bit to the northeast, causing some of the mist to swirl in that area.
Contents:
Dies-for-Others
Persephone
Agatha
Robert
Obvious exits:
Rock Slab Windy Spot WaterFall Steam Vents

With a short yip, the Gnawer bounds into view. Hello all. She sniffs the others, glancing around to see who's here.

Blooms-Pain bounds after Three-Blades, nipping at her tail. Your too fast Blades!

Persephone seems to be waiting relatively patiently near the center, off a little bit from the main body that seems to be gathering for the assault.

Dies-for-Others has not seen Agatha there just yet. He doesn't stop until he is next to his pack Alpha, and sits down, watching and waiting.

Robert glances at the cub, then at his watch agani. "Not hardly."

Three-Blades turns her ear and nips back at Blooms. You're too slow. Been sitting in ~farmhouse~ too long. She whuffles and flickers her ears at the cub.

Finds-the-Lost comes scrambling down the path and into the center, to find his packmates amongst the others here. As usual for fights such as these, the young Get seems fairly excited.

Blooms-Pain snorts at the Gnawer and flattens her ears back slightly. Stretching out her body, her amber eyes blink a bit as the others begin to gather. Curious, she looks to her loping friend, wondering what is going on.

Robert glances at his watch once again. "Okay, people. DO any of you have any idea what time it is? Do any of you have any idea that we were supposed to have left about 15 minutes ago?"

Three-Blades sits down and scratches with a hindpaw at her ear. How many more are coming? She chuffs softly, not meaning to intrude on the rant.

By the steam vents, Mule lurks somewhere between here and the actual center, definitely on the fringes. His ears droop along with his body at Robert's irritation, cringing.

Rides-Fire's ear cants at Robert curiously, the wolf-born also showing mild signs of impatience. The Stargazer stands with the rest of his pack, having just greeted Finds-the-Lost's arrival.

Lion's-Roar makes his way in from the south, having maintained a vigil at the edge of the Caern until things finally looked like they were about to get rolling. He just sits there for now.

Blooms-Pain relaxes upon her paws and cants her head to the side, listening to the Elder of her tribe. She keeps herself next to Three-Blades, inquisitive as always.

Persephone half-listens to the Warder's admonition wth the confidence that comes from knowing she, at least, was in on time. She shifts up into homid and begins planting arrows from her quiver into the ground.

Finds-the-Lost is on his feet, pacing about in a restless and eager manner. Though it's not really a response to the Warder, no doubt those nearby can pick up on what he speaks to his packmates. ~Maybe the lupus all need watches for their birthdays. It would be more accurate than judging off the sun and moon.~

Agatha edges towards her elders. In a low voice, she asks, "Is there any way in which I can help, Persephone-rhya?"

The Fianna galliard stands with his pack, looking edgy, and anxious but quiet all the same. He looks at the Warder quickly, and then shakes off his displeasure.

Three-Blades glances to Rides-Fire and Robert. Well while we wait, maybe we can pre-arrange in packs?

By the waterfall, Speaking of late, there's Tecmessa, clambering down the path, looking just slightly annoyed. She gravitates toward Megan almost automatically.

Firewatcher pads over towards Rides-Fire, whuffing at Tecmessa as she goes. Kyle, sans Trickster, trots into the center of the caern via his usual route by the waterfall. He's also missing his trenchcoat and sidearm.

Finds-the-Lost paces some more, bumping Rides-Fire purposefully at one point. The others know that we won't be retreating from battle, right? The other packs wanted to, last fight. Some of them.

Robert observes, "Maybe people could be here early. One would think that's easier to guess." He snaps the pocketwatch shut again, dropping it to one side. Looking around the caern, notes to Three-Blades, "Excellent idea, though we won't be waiting long. We probably have enough, and the stragglers keep coming in."

Heart-of-Fury bumps against the other Fianna as she nears his pack's alpha. I am glad to see you, Firewatcher.

Rides-Fire chuffs a pleased return to Firewatcher, then indicates to Three-Blades that he, at least, thinks this is a good plan. Inherent in his posture is submission to the athro Warder's opinion.

Three-Blades lolls her tongue, receiving the compliments from Robert and Rides-Fire proudly. Ears perk to hear which group she should join up with as she bumps Blooms with a light chuff.

Tecmessa doesn't say anything in particular; just settles into a crouch near Megan and looks around.

Dies-for-Others's ears perk, as he looks around for anyone who doesn't have a pack. His eyes fall on Blooms-Pain, and he walks over to her.

Blooms-Pain flickers both of her ears up at the bumb and gives a light nuzzle to her friend. Her tail coils around her paws easily as she listens to the going on's.

Lion's-Roar remains fixedly seated. He's not bumping anyone nor engrossed in any how-do-you-do idle chitchat. He's just waiting to go and take names.

Persephone continues around the white stone, planting arrows and then backs off, shaking her head at Agatha. "The beginning is done. The rest will takesome time, but it is mostly something to be done alone."

Agatha retreats at Persephone's words, looking around for a moment before edging towards Tecmessa.

Rides-Fire turns toward the Black Fury fostern. Nudging Ethan companionably, he then pushes to his paws and moves toward her and waits for her to acknowledge him.

Kyle reaches to the ground and lifts up a smallish rock. His body expands as he straightens, hair sprouting from his thickened limbs and craggy features. The rock is used as a whetstone against the glabro's horny nails.

Shadow-of-Blood looks somewhat surprised to see the caern still full, but moves through the crowd to be near his packmates.

Finds-the-Lost already has a pack, so issues of who to fight with are of less concern to him. He's ready, he's just restless, and extremely talkative besides. It's Heart-of-Fury now that he speaks to, though whether or not his Fianna packmate is listening isn't anything he's too concerned about. The ragabash will talk anyway. I told you about how I went on a moon bridge before, right? When I was patrolling with Halfhand and his pack. This should be the same, but I bet there's a lot more fighting tonight than we saw all week on patrols.

Tecmessa murmurs a greeting to her tribemate.

Over near the rock outcropping, Joshua Halfhand crosses his arms in front of his chest. He watches the war party without a visible change in expression.

Heart-of-Fury's listening, but his response is far less verbal; he simply acknowledges it will be different in many ways.

Mule moves to come up into Kyle's shadow, settling down and looking poised to leave.

Little Bear just appears near Yi, nosing a greeting before curling in a small circle next to her, one ear cocked.

Persephone takes a couple of steps away, then glances towards the Warder. "Whenever you are ready to go." Robert looks around the caern at the gathered party. "Is everyone in packs? Move together if you are."

Three-Blades continues casting her gaze towards various groups, still eyeing the Alpha waiting for some assignment.

By the waterfall, Kaz, Guardian For The Day, which is not nearly as fun as Queen For The Day, scrambles down the path, still shrouded in mist, and settles at the top of the waterfall.

Dies-for-Others tells Blooms-Pain quietly that the rest of us will be leaving soon, and that it will be safer if the cub makes herself scarce, then goes to move back to Robert's side.

Lion's-Roar is also currently sitting alone.

Agatha glances to Tec, then to Robert, wondering which group she should join.

Tecmessa glances from Megan to Agatha and back again, and raises an eyebrow.

The fostern Black Fury then looks towards the Stargazer, acknowledging him.

Blooms-Pain feels her ears flop down to her skull as she glances to her teacher, then lets out a bit of a sigh. Leaning into the Gnawer, she offers a quick nip to her friend's shoulder, then heads out of the caern.

Three-Blades whuffs a short goodbye to Blooms as she departs. Tell Reads to keep safe too!

Finds-the-Lost has his pack. Just to confuse the Talon in it, apparently, he asks, ~When was your birthday, Shadow-of-Blood? I need to get you a present.~ It's a rhetorical question, one that doesn't expect an answer. He's watching the others assemble, and shifts up into crinos form while he's at it.

Blooms-Pain notes that she will! The small female chuffs back as she departs.

Kyle looks up from his now-sharpened nails. After a brief consideration, he grunts in glabro-distorted English to Owen. "Join us?"

Rides-Fire found the goose guardian last night. He was able to answer more questions about the place we go. The guardian of the place of power used to be Seeker of Secrets, but he does not know if it still is. Our kind stopped talking to him, and he stopped talking to them. The goose does not know who guards there, though he agrees it is probably not yet one of the brood of the Enemy.

Firewatcher looks and notices Agatha, looking faintly surprised to see the girl, then whuffs an invitation. You may run with us if you would like.

Agatha looks relieved as she moves over to stand with Firewatcher and Tecmessa.

Lion's-Roar at first just turns an ear, then slowly turns his head to regard Kyle for a moment. He then slowly gets to his feet and lumbers his way over towards the elder Get without a word spoken.

Three-Blades snorts a bit, ears flattening slightly as she casts about for a group of her own.

Robert looks around again. "Is this one the only one not in a group?" he asks, pointing to Three-Blades.

Dies-for-Others looks up. Then she will join ours.

Rides-Fire then turns back toward Robert. This time, he does not wait as long to be acknowledged, feeling the growing pressue of gathering to leave. He does, however, shift into hispo and his voice carries, ~The goose spirit also said that, when he left, the sept was not more than fifteen. He has not returned since my pack and Balancer went north and could say not more.~

Three-Blades whuffs true, then glances to Dies. Rising to her haunches, she dips her head low in respect. This one is honored to run with you.

Little Bear isn't in a group.

Three-Blades whuffs to Little Bear, inviting the Wendigo to her side if he wishes. Her ears turn towards Dies-For-Others. If that's ok with you. Dies-for-Others doesn't appear to be bothered by it, but he does turn to his Elder for confirmation.

Robert raises an eyebrow, then nods. "Very well." The Warder gives Rides-Fire a brief nod, saying, "Good. Hopefully this will be that much easier, then." Raising his voice to be heard over the underlying murmur of the crowd, he says, "We are going to liberate the Sept of Gaia's Tears. The Garou there /may/ be recoverable. We will fight to subdue if possible. If not possible, we fight to recover the caern, not the Garou. Gaia can purify them and return them to us later. Any questions?"

Heart-of-Fury is eager to start, and howls to that effect.

Little Bear glances from Dies to Three-Blades, then pulls himself to his feet, padding over and sitting next to Yi.

Rides-Fire's tongue lolls with anticipation as he retreats to the howling galliard. Together, Final Strike waits for the rite to open the way.

Three-Blades has no more questions, shifting up to hispo for the run. Her furry head nudges Little Bear with a light chuff. ~Remember who we're fighting against this time, eh?~ Her long pink tongue lolls.

Finds-the-Lost has his own issues over this 'fight to subdue' directive, but it's not a surprise to him. He flexes his fingers, studying his claws, and sticks close to Rides-Fire especially of his packmates.

Little Bear looks down at his paws, ears back. I think I'll be okay this time.

Thunder-Eater's wrinkled brow furrows and his mouth opens slightly, as if he had a question. He stops himself, though, and holds the thought.

Firewatcher stands with the two cliath Black Furies, looking poised to follow. Lion's-Roar is tense, all the tenser now at being at Thunder-Eater's side. His elder gets more than one sidelong look as he simply awaits the beginning of tonight's journey. As others begin to howl, he just begins to snarl.

Mule's muzzle wrinkles slightly at the orders, but holds his peace.

Dies-for-Others bares his teeth, taking the Near-wolf form as he awaits his order.

Robert nods to Rides-Fire, backing off for a moment to let the Stargazer take center stage.

Tecmessa shifts, as she crouches, into hispo. No questions.

Persephone begins chanting softly, starting the Rite early so that it will finish before the moment is lost. Those close to her might notice she seems to be chanting in classical languages, some Latin, some Greek.

Agatha shifts into glabro, crouching next to Tecmessa.

Rides-Fire's voice carries out stronger this time, though the strident tones carry more determination than anger. ~We are gathered here to follow our laws, to make certain that a caern is not violated by the poison that has crept into its Garou. We go, not to kill, but to save. It is not for our glory that we fight tonight, but for Gaia's strength.~ Voice building in a howl, he calls out, ~We go!~

Rides-Fire pages to the room: Ping. Inspiration. :)

Dies-for-Others raises his muzzle, how own howl joining in the chorus.

Heart-of-Fury's voice joins in the howl, as well. The Fianna paws at the ground, restless.

Three-Blades adds her own alto-pitch to the voices lifted, song trailing to the skies.

Mule breaks his silence to loose a howl from behind the two Get of Fenris ahroun, jumping to his feet to ready himself to follow after the makeshift pack.

Agatha howls along with the others, putting her understanding of the night's purpose into it.

Robert shifts up into crinos, his howl joining the chorus even as a soft glow starts to suffuse his fur.

Thunder-Eater's broken-throated rumble joins the chorus.

Finds-the-Lost gives a short, enthused howl, all ready to storm off through a moon bridge. He even gets a step forward in that goal before he realizes things aren't quite that far along yet.

Lion's-Roar slowly swells up into hispo, muscles bulging and taut in anticipation of action. His howl is one full of rage, a more bloodcurdling cry than a song of battle.

Three-Blades nips at Little Bear's shoulder once she's done letting her song go, and concentrates momentarily on dissipating to the viewer's eye.

Little Bear looks over at her, and snorts, consternated, when she doesn't appear to be there.

Long distance to Little Bear: Three-Blades nipped you to let you know she's there. Once someone sees you, even though you're blurred, they can see you.

Little Bear pages: Ah, gotcha.

Persephone continues chanting, finally slipping into English as she goes into a crescendo. "Phoebe, we call on the strength you give to tie together the caerns of your sister. Aeolus, we ask that you use the power of your caern to help us rescue another caern. Luna, help us to open this bridge to the caern of Gaia's Tears, held at one time by the Seeker of Secrets!" She nocks an arrow in her bow, and the clouds break for just a moment as a moonbeam shines down on the glimmering bow. With a loud *twang*, the arrow is released into the air. A shaft of light and fog follows it, reaching to the ground. The Fury turns to the Warder and the assault group. "Go quickly. They will not be surprised long."

Peacekeeper nods to the Ritemistress, gruffly replying, ~Thenks.~ To the rest of the group, he calls, ~GO!~ and steps onto the shaft of light, quickly disappearing.

Sept of Gaia's Tears(#2427RJ)
A spooky dark woods
Contents:
Peacekeeper
Goose Spirit

[Insert much @tel-ing]

Little Bear steps in after Three-Blades, looking around nervously.

Thunder-Eater leads the two other Get through the light, a grimace on his warped face as he steps in.

Goose Spirit HONK. OOC: Standard Warnings about death remain in effect. At least one person has already died at this place :) Please break into groups and coordinate your poses though that group leader. Remember +scan.

Agatha follows hard on Balancer's and Firewatcher's heels.

Three-Blades flanks off to one side of Dies and Peacekeeper, her form shimmering slightly in the dim light as she does. Again her tail thumps lightly against Little Bear's side to let the Wendigo know where she is.

The moon bridge opens with a flare of light and a soft rumble like summer thunder. Foxfire-like streamers of light play over the pathstone that flares like it's lit from within. The bridge opens and stabilizes, illuminating multiple pairs of eyes that flash red with reflected light. A soft surpised chuff comes from every throat around the pool area and the dark shapes there rise and turn as one, eeriely silent and machine-like in their precision and coordination. Sets of ears flick up. Several sets of teeth are bared and one growl issues from multiple throats.

The area is dominated by a small deep pool that is fed from a 15' tall waterfall. Behind and to the north the land rises and breaks into rocky outcroppings; the stream comes from this area and drops off an overhang of rock. The area around the pool is green and flat. Behind the waterfall is obviously a cave complex that goes back into the rocky ourcropping and downwards.

You paged Little Bear, Dies-for-Others, and Peacekeeper with 'On Robert's signal, Unleash Hell. :)'.

The Gaian Warder, the first through the Attack Bridge, leaps out into the middle of the caern, snarling at the Garou all around. ~Two packs to each side of the pool! Recover the caern! For Gaia!~

Dies-for-Others is moving with his pack Alpha, growling loudly. His teeth gleam in the red light as he jumps after the Warder, ready.

Little Bear follows after Dies-for-Others, but is keeping his posture more alert than threatening at the moment.

Thunder-Eater leads the other Get across the moon bridge, adopting the war form en route. Chaser is the last to follow, ranging behind and keeping her wary senses alert. Lion's-Roar keeps close to Kyle's side, while the Mule backs them up. On the Wader's command, they range to the side of the pool and approach the defenders.

Chiaroscuro moves right, after they get off the bridge, ranging in the opposite direction from the Get, attempting to get some vague idea of the situation before diving in to attack.

The one single multi-throated growl grows in volume. One larger hispo stands up and the others - about 10 in number - suddenly all go to crinos with one smooth motion. They howl and growl their defiance to the invaders in one thundering voice. ~For Gaia! The bearers of the Impergium return! Kill them! For Gaia!!~ There are two basic groups, one on either side of the Hidden Walk garou.

Despite their warier totem, Final Strike shows little of the caution displayed by the raven pack. Rides-Fire hesitates a handful of seconds, black nostrils flaring warily even as Robert calls and charges. ~Ware the water!~ he suddenly cries sharply, before leading his pack to the poolside opposite the one the Warder chose. Finds-the-Lost follows close behind as his pack joins his tribemates on the side opposite the Water. Fighting together, the two single out the closest crinos and hit him high and low. The Stargazer takes the latter, blurring to bite twice in crinos, while Finds-the-Lost also calls on rage to hit twice with his claws. On their other side, Shadow-of-Blood advances toward the next closest foe, snarling as he has since coming off the bridge. Beside him and slightly before, Heart-of-Fury suddenly goes into a maddening cacophany of yips and whines, glare burning into the same target. The Fianna galliard sounds more like a coyote on acid than his normal angry self.

Robert's pack moves off towards the right of the pool as well, leading in front is the crinosed Alpha, behind him Dies-for-Others and flanking are LB and Yi, both in hispo. Following his Alpha's lead, Dies-for-Others blurs with Rage, diving and going after one of the opponents with his teeth, biting twice. Peacekeeper locks eyes with the closest Garou from Gaia's Tears and waves a hand, invoking his gift. ~Remember the goodness of Gaia,~ he says calmly as he looks at the other Garou. Little Bear stays on the fringes of the clearing, calling on camoulflage, to see if he can't spot what is weird about the pool that Rides had yelled about. Three-Blades follows Dies-for-Others with a wary yip of excitement, leaping up at one of the crinosed members to knock her opponent down heavily.

The Get, once the foe hoves into view, approach as a group. Chaser closes behing the two Ahroun, moving in next to Kristof. Lion's-Roar and Thunder-Eater charge the knot of defenders on their side of the pool. A likely Crinos target in their sights, the two strike ferociously with all the strength and Rage the Get are renowned for. Kristof harries the pack's target, alert to any who might threaten the flank or rear of the two Modi. Chaser, moving with the unnatural speed of the enraged, flanks the target and rakes taloned hands at any vulnerable locations. The attack is, all things considered, remarkably coordinated for a bunch of unruly Get.

Having gotten a clue or two, Chiaroscuro ranges after Vigilant Rampart, heading for those Garou not taken. Firewatcher and Balancer head for one Garou, Megan just slightly ahead of Tecmessa. Agatha pauses to send out a powerful call of ~You have nothing to fear if you are not of the Wyrm!~ before heading to back the two packmates up.

Rides-Fire and Ethan bear on crinosed garou to the ground, ripping, tearing and pummeling. Steven's yips and barks seem to have to desired effect on at least one in the knot the pack is going for; he stands and flaps his ears back in confusion. Two others beside him almost do the same before seeming to recover and moving to attack Rides-Fire and Ethan. They fall on the two, biting and tearing, doing far more damage to Ethan than to the Stargazer.

Dies-For-Others overbears his opponent and the two go down in a twisting flurry of claws and teeth; blood spatters the ground around them. Robert's opponent fares much worse. He hears the gentle words and he stands stupified, ears flapping back with the same dumbfounded expressionas the one Steven confused. One large black crinos takes the opportunity to dart towards Yi and slashes at her.

The Get overbear and utterly shred one garou, bearing him down into a struggling screaming pile of bloody fur. Firewatcher and Balancer fare almost as well, piling on another crinos. The battle is now fully joined; howls and screams fill the pool area and blood flows down to mix freely with the water. The defending members of the caern blur with rage all at once and attack.

From afar, to the room, Goose Spirit UPDATE. At this point, 4 of the defenders are out of action; 1 dead, 3 confused/stunned/etc.

Thunder-Eater pages to the room: Out of 10 total?

Goose Spirit pages to the room: At this time, yes.

From afar, to the room, Chaser doesn't like the sound of THAT. :>

You paged the room with 'He said /not/ to kill them! Silly Get.'.

Lion's-Roar pages to the room: It was an accident. :)

From afar, to the room, Thunder-Eater whistles innocently.

Chaser pages to the room: I musta missed that part, boss. :>

Tecmessa and Firewatcher, limbs blurring, continue their stubborn attempts to subdue their foe. Agatha, blurring into Crinos, joins them.

In Keeper's pack, Little Bear moves cautiously nearer the pool, eyes widening at the size of the thing inside, and sniffs furiously, trying to scent the thing. Dies-for-Others doesn't appear to be all that injured in his current brawl. He chomps down again, trying to shift into Crinos to pin the opponent to the ground. He stays where he is for now, trying to hold the line. The athro Gaian nods to himself, then looks around the rest of the battle quickly. Noticing Three-Blades' predicament, he takes a step over towards the pair and slashes low on the other female, trying to hamstring the black crinos on a leg and take her down quickly. Three-Blades growls lowly as claws swipe into her blurry back and shoulders, sending blood to darken her blackish fur. With a snap of her jaws, she turns. ~Little Bear! What do you have there?~ She howls out in question as her eyes catch the Wendigo by the pool. Her claw lashes out at the second of the black crinos' backlegs, eyes refocused to hamstring her attacker as well.

The Get tighten their formation as the counterattack gathers itself. Kyle and Owen set themselves to bear the brunt, and Chaser gathers herself to their side as Kristof fortifies the stern in an attempt to keep the Caern's defenders from singling any of the Get out. Not content to be passive, Owen, Chaser, and Kristof aim vicious undermining blows at their assailants legs, attempting to remove vital tendons and smash bone. Thunder Eater bellows a horrific howl into the face of one of the approaching defenders, the scar granted him by Echen lending it a particularly awful note.

Finds-the-Lost quickly pulls to the side at the attack, effort made to avoid as much as possible any chance of getting pinned. It's not as bad a blow as it seemed, though, and rage fuels the Get into a claw counterstrike against his attacker. Heart-of-Fury changes targets, though his series of maddening whines continues. This time, he seeks to distract the enemy fighting his Get packmate. The Fianna bounces on the balls of his feet, ready to move if any charge him. Shadow-of-Blood leaps into the fray in defense of his packmates, teeth flashing as he bites at the Garou who jumped onto his pack alpha from behind. Mindful of Robert's admonition, the Talon is attacking legs, trying to incapacitate his opponent swiftly. Rides-Fire himself seeks the throat, both to incapacite the ability of his opponent to attack and to cut off his supply of air. One of the Stargazer's forepaws tangles at the front limbs of his attacker as he also strikes his foe.

Thunder-Eater pages to the room: Chaser,lr,mule=Would you like a shampoo and blowdry with that?

Thunder-Eater er.

Rides=Fire and Shadow-=Of-Blood manage to keep the attacking crinos off Ethan and incapacitate him in a flailing flurry of claws and teeth. The defender howls with pain and rage, the muscles of his legs almost gone. ~GAIA!~ he calls out, in a howl of whimpering pain. Steven's yips and howls seem oddly effective on another incoming attacker, causing the crinos to yip and scratch at itself in confusion.

Dies-For-Others is tangled with his opponent, rolling and fighting. Neither seems to really be getting the upper hand on either. Peacekeeper and Yi manage to staple down their opponent in short order, downing the struggling crinos. Tec, Agatha and Firewatcher combine on one foe and down him with a crack of breaking bone. Two attackers fall on Agatha and tear at her flanks, carving away chunks of fur and muscle.

The Get pummel one defender into paste which whimpers, and one approaching defender fluncjes from the howl but perseveres. It launches itself at Lion's Roar and slashes.

Little Bear's reply is cut short as the pool begins to bubble and froth, as if something large was surfacing; the water pours over the banks and flows around the attackers and defenders alike as it's pushed out of the way by the rising bulk beneath. A large tentacle, easily as large around as a crinos chest rises out and pounds the shore area where Little Bear was; he manages to dodge aside as the horny ridges of the tentacle pulverize stone and earth alike.

At the sight of the risen tentacle, the remaining conscious defenders seem to rally. ~Gaia has come!~ they scream as one.

The Get of Fenris live up to their reputation, moving to their third defender as it makes the mistake of attacking Lion's Roar. The cliath ahroun gives an angry roar at the personal affront, and lashes out at the other's face and neck. Thunder-Eater barrels into the side, going after some kidney. Chaser attempts to flank it, going low for the belly vitals. Mule's attention is momentarily taken by the arrival of the monster, and he hesitates in the attack.

Tecmessa casts a brief, hunted glance at the Thing in the Pool, but she and Megan both ignore it to dive on one of Agatha's attackers, blurring as they combine to pummel it; Agatha does the same, blurring to try and get the upper hand on the other one.

In Robert's Pack, Little Bear is halfway to crinos before he realizes it, barking out a startled 'shit!' He keeps to hispo, however, moving with rage-fueled speed and snap-growling at the thing, trying to keep its attention on him while the others finish the rest of the defenders. Dies-for-Others gathers his will, using his only current weapon, namely his opponent, and bodily heaves his tangled enemy at the just risen enemy. With the new threat rising out of the water, Peacekeeper leaves the black crinos behind and leaps at the tentacle, claws oustretched. With the speed born of the gift of Rage, he slices at the tentacle, hoping to at least wound the thing before more of it comes out of the water. Yi quickly turns as blackie goes down, eyes intent on searching out Little Bear but finding Cthulu rising from the pool. ~What in the name of Gaia's Shampooed Hair is that?!~ she yips. The yip, however, quickly turns into a howl that challenges the beast of the water. In a quick bound, she lunges for a different tentacle, moving with Rage fueled speed and biting at the tentacle's base.

Finds-the-Lost is momentarily distracted by the Pool Monster, and there's some hesitation before he focuses again on the Garou in front of him. He drops to all fours and lunges at the distracted one, teeth snapping. Also startled by the tentacle, Heart-of-Fury stops his distracting call. A few seconds later, the Fianna galliard charges in to help Ethan, leveling two rage-fueled punches at the target. The Talon finishes the one Garou he and Ride-Fire had attacked, then turns to the next target. Taking up where Finds-the-Lost left off, he snaps at the last remaining undistracted Garou near the pack, not thinking about the creature yet. Rides-Fire moves with his wolf-born packmate, worrying the enemy from the front while the Red Talon takes the hind legs. Finish the Garou, then worry about water monsters.

Peacekeeper leaps at the tentacle in a blur of speed, claws carving off great slices and biting deep into the pulpy grey flesh; gouts of steaming white watery stuff spurt from the wounds, killing the grass where-ever it touches and burning flesh where it lands. The tentacle writhes in pain and other splits appear along it's length; wet red mouths suddenly gape open and snap at random. The tentacle picks up Peacekeeper and begins to flail about with him, beating him against the stony ground with powerful snaps. Yi tackles another tentacle rising from the dark water and it wraps around her even as she attacks and damages it, the gaping mouths sinking deep into her flesh and pumping steaming boiling white liquid over her.

Dies-For-Others raises up and manages somehow to toss his opponent over into the water. At once a tentacle rises up to meet the hurtling body; the tentacle itself splits down its entire length like a huge pod of boiled okra, revealing foot-long teeth and a pulsing throat. The tentacle snaps the garou up and closes, a gout of white juices liquifying flesh and bone. A bulge passing down the length of the throat is the only remaining evidence that any garou was ever there.

Finds the Lost and Steven overbear their opponent, still stunned from Steven's Gift, while Rides-Fire and Shadow of Blood take down the last opponent near them; the flailing garou draws some deep cuts on SoB's side even as she falls, screaming for Gaia to save her.

The Get, acting almost as unified as the bizarre behavior of the defending garou, take down their remaining garou opponent, overbearing them into unconsciousness.

Tec, Megan and Agatha turn on their opponent and manage to subdue her with ease.

UPDATE: At this point, the defending Garou are either dead or incapacitated

The Chiaroscurans spend only a brief moment extricating themselves from the fallen Garou, and then all three are heading for the nearest tentacle, at speed. Long distance to Little Bear and Peacekeeper: Three-Blades | Yi shifts to crinos, her claws in a raging flurry as she shreds the tentacle and mouths around her, attempting to loose herself and fall back into the water to wash that digestive fluid before it eats at her any more.

Little Bear sees the thing start to chew on Yi and forgets trying to distract the thing, opting instead to get the ragabash the hell away from the monstrosity. He shifts up to crinos and attempts to sever the thing just below where its got her, howling like a banshee. More of its rising! With a snarl, Peacekeeper's arms turn into a blur as he slices at the tentacle again and again, channeling his fury into cutting at the thing, heedless of the damage his own body is taking. Dies-for-Others goes immediately, now that he has his footing, to help free his pack Alpha from the tentacle, swiping at it twice. he snaps into Crinos, striking if he can, and making sure that mouth doesn't come near him or anyone around him. Yi doesn't take to howling now, eyes stinging with liquid but the sushi around her quite clearly needs some cutting. Shifting to crinos, she wordlessly shreds away in a blurry flurry of claws at the mouths and tentacle wrapping her, hoping to loosen herself from the monster's grip and dive into the water to wash off.

The group of Get attack the creature en-masse, moving with enraged speed. They are a flurry of claws and teeth, aiming for anything that seems like it might be amenable to a savaging.

Final Strike pauses for a few seconds in their tableau of carnage and unconscious enemies, before Rides-Fire calls, ~Strike, to me! Claws!~ As one, the two lupus shift into crinos form and plow into the nearest tentacle with rapid slashing strokes. Finds-the-Lost takes a few moments longer to get moving, frozen in horror as he watches the athro ahroun get beaten around like a rag doll at a daycare. Heart-of-Fury gooses the Get ragabash rudely as he moves past. ~Get /moving/!~ The two homids pick up speed to back up their attacking packmates.

With a kind of groutesque majesty, the rest of the creature rises above the water's surface; it is vaguely snake-like in form with a hide that glistens and ripples as if it were poor canvas concealing an inner framework. The 'head' of the thing is a mass of decaying flesh that is composed of several cougars melded - no, /melted/ - together, still hideously alive and screaming with pain and madness. Sprouting from the neck are the writhing blind heads of stags, great racks of antlers gleaming with slime. Two huge tentacles and the mouth-like tentacle wrap around the base of the thing, provising it with movement and a way to feed. A screaming massive parody of the typical depiction of Uktena gives forth a terrible moan and caterwaul from it's cougar mouths as it heaves it way out of the pool.

Peacekeeper slashes and slashes again and again, carving writhing peices from the tentacle entrapping him. Dies-For-Others aids him, great claws driving deep into the pulpy flesh of the monster. The tentacle mouths snap at them both, evne as the flesh parts and the length holding Robert drops off with a wet meaty thunk. It writhes around still, trying to feed. The thing bellows with rage and pain, and the stump hoses the area with steaming acidic juices as it flails about.

Yi struggles as Little Bear joins the fight, trying to dislodge the mouths holding her to the acidic skin. Chiaroscuro leaps in as the body rotates, making that tentacle the target of opportunity; they tear into the wet papery skin and try to free the Gnawer. Flesh on both sides parts and flaps away, letting Yi tear herself free. he Get attack the large mouth-like tentacle, which turns on them quickly and blulges, vomiting forth a great gout of black liquid not unlike almost-dried blood. It splashes over Lion's Roar and Kyle, boiling away fur and muscle, exposing bone white and steaming.

At sight of the melded creature, Megan snarls, and presses the attack far more intently than just a moment before. The two Furies continue their attack, trying to get at the base of the tentacle.

You paged the room with 'Quick question: How tall is this thing, now that it has come out of the water?'.

Goose Spirit pages to the room: About 15 feet tall, though it's kinda hard to tell, it moves and seems to elastic.

You paged the room with 'So, how far up is the antlers ringing its neck?'.

Goose Spirit pages to the room: About 10 feet up

Lion's-Roar's seared body crashes to the ground in a stinking hissing mess of black bile. Thunder-Eater manages to retain his consciousness and mobility, and a taloned hand scorched to the white bone beneath reaches for his fallen comrade. Kyle attempts to pull Owen away from the immediate fray, and he signals for the Mule. Chaser roars in fury as the blood of packmates is shed. ~Spits acid!~ she snarls, stepping forward to defend the two wounded Garou. Fury fuels her attack as she keeps to the flank of the tentacle, claws reaching to hold and seize, trying to direct the weapon of the horrible mouth back on the bulk of the creature. Mule moves to aid Thunder-Eater and Lion's-Roar, first to pull them free and clear, then to aid their wounds.

Heart-of-Fury's releasing a keening roar, full of madness and fury, and charging without fear directly for the body of the abomination, biting, clawing and ripping as much as he can, as fast as he can. The Talon theurge's rage increases at the unnaturalness of this monstrosity and he follows his Fianna packmate in to tear at its body, though he doesn't get too close to the frenzied Garou. Finds-the-Lost plunges into the fray gamely, once his packmate's nudged him into actual movement. He's acutely aware of the acid-like substance, sacrificing speed if necessary to get a clear claw strike against one of the tentacles, as low as possible. Rides-Fire screams a howl of righteous anger as the sight of the creature's body hits him like a physical blow. The Stargazer starts after his first two packmates, but Ethan's exchange with the tentacle gains his attention. Not even attempting to dodge, the dexterous Stargazer unloads the last of his rage on the tentacle in a flurry of claw strikes.

In Robert's Pack, Little Bear plunges back into the fight, screaming a blood-curdling human yell from a Garou throat. He goes for the cougars as if they were put there as a sign from Grandmother herself, claws ripping. Once the Warder is retreved, Dies-for-Others steps in between him and anything approaching, growling ~Heal~ in a quick motion and keeping a wary gaze, ready to dodge and hit if need be. Yi climbs out of the water near the waterfall, sputtering and coughing. She's quickly on her paws again though, circling swiftly around behind the monster as she seeks out for any weakspots in the spine of the monster, waiting for a chance to attack it from behind. Peacekeeper looks around a moemnt at his younger packmate's command. Seeing no one else within reach who needs healing, he snorts before closing his eyes for a moment as a white glow covers his body, an island of peace and calm in the middle of the battle as Grandmother's Touch flows.

Under the combined assault of the garou, having already lost one tentacle completely and the other one in shreds, the thing has little direct way to defend itself against the claws and teeth that now can reach the soft inner body. It tries to sink back down into the pool but the damage it's sustained from the frenzied claws of the attackers prove too much for it. Great rents allow the soft inner juices to spill out into the pool as a great stench of corruption and decay hit the massed garou. The thing gives a keening cry and falls over on the rocks, the white foam of it's blood making short work of the rocks and the now-vunerable body. Great hunks of it dissolve away, leaving only a few cartiligious rings to prove the thing was here at all. The cougars scream and spit as they dissolve on a tide of acid, and finally the thing lies still and unmoving.

Long distance to Little Bear, Dies-for-Others, and Peacekeeper: Three-Blades moves away from the pool and waterfall quickly, keeping her paws out of that acidic blood as the Wyrmspawn dissolves in it's own blood. She circles about to Little Bear's side, growling strained and spitting away what hunks of flesh are left between her fangs as she accompanies the Wendigo to check on the downed but still alive members of the tainted caern.

From afar, to the room, Goose Spirit has to idle for about 10 and then run. I'll check back to answer questions when I come back. Basically, y'all have about 5 prisoners; two succumb to their wounds and a couple more got eaten or splashed with acid.

Goose Spirit pages to the room: After careful checking, the caern is not corrupted but it's certainly headed that way

Rides-Fire staggers a couple of steps, blood matting his left side from an ignored wound. ~Spirit,~ he croaks from a throat dry from fighting. ~Gone here, other side?~

Goose Spirit honks. *The other side is clean. It existed wholly in this realm.* the goose squawks, making itself understood by all.

Little Bear gives the thing one last swipe for good measure, then leaves it to the theurges, going to check on the downed members of the tainted caern. Dies-for-Others stays at his Alpha's side, down by three points but still conscious as he frets over Peacekeeper. Three-Blades moves away from the pool and waterfall quickly, keeping her paws out of that acidic blood as the Wyrmspawn dissolves in it's own blood. She circles about to Little Bear's side, growling strained and spitting away what hunks of flesh are left between her fangs as she accompanies the Wendigo to check on the downed but still alive members of the tainted caern.

Balancer glances warily at the caverns. ~We should check those.~

Chaser steps back from the carnage, and glances over her shoulder to her packmates. ~I'll look,~ she snarls. ~Anyone else?~ She stalks off in the direction of the caves, wiping off the ichor on her fur.

Peacekeeper takes a brief glance of assessment around the group, responding curtly to Chaser, ~Take some of the less wounded and go. I can heal.~

Little Bear glances up from one of the prisoners. ~ I'll go. ~

Finds-the-Lost moves away from the pool, the acid spills, and what bits and pieces are left of the Pool Monster. It doesn't seem as if he's suffered much damage at all in the fight. When Chaser moves so does he, calling out, ~I will.~ It's only after a few steps that he thinks to look over at Rides-Fire, to see if this is alright with him.

Heart-of-Fury still has madness in his eyes. Snarling with emotion gone too far, he leaps for his pack's alpha, hispo jaws wide.

Balancer silently follows Chaser.

Lion's-Roar regains consciousness as Mule set the healing touch to him. He looks up, only to see the fight is over, and so just lets his head fall back to the ground for the moment.

Under the Metis Get's ministrations, Lion's-Roar begins to come-to. He pushes to his feet, even as the Mule turns to Kyle's horrible burns. Kyle bears the scrutiny with ill grace, watching the combat flow to conclusion without him. He seems to realize his wounds would be lethal in short order, if tested. Mule sets about trying to heal the rageful Modi to some small effect.

Peacekeeper caught in looking over the group, blinks at the sudden attack on Rides-Fire, then extends a raised hand towards the frenzied Heart-of-Fury. ~Be at peace. The battle is over.~

Thunder-Eater moves towards the felled beast, his form shifting down towards the Glabro. He removes a small bone cup, and begins to gather some of the corrupt Uktena's ichor into it. Soon, the ichor starts to smoke.

Three-Blades may be partially digested and chewed up in some spots, but she's a Gnawer, and she'll survive. With quiet gaze, her ears flatten as Heart-of-Fury frenzies, and she snorts, moving to follow Chaser as she shifts down to hispo for some more stability in her movements.

Rides-Fire staggers under the unexpected attack, having had his back to his packmate while listening to the goose. Roaring angrily, the Stargazer ahroun turns to the Fianna and begins to beat at him with closed fists. Blood streaks down his back from the Fianna's initial attack.

Chaser makes her way toward the caves, keeping the warform for the moment. This scouting, after all, hardly requires stealth.

Balancer follows along behind, senses straining.

Little Bear keeps almost protectively close to Three-Blades, glancing at Heart-of-Fury but showing no reaction. He follows Chaser, ears swiveling.

Finds-the-Lost forgets about the caves, and leaves the scouting party to go on without him. He's springing forward now to his alpha's defense. ~Stop it!~ he growls angrily along the way; no doubt this is less effective than the Warder's words, despite the fact that he's won out in volume.

Thunder-Eater leans forward, breathing the vapors that billow from the bone cup. He shudders at the effect they have on him.

Heart-of-Fury's maddened howl is cut off by Robert's words and gestures. The Fianna falls off the Stargazer, with a sudden, horrible realization, and rolls over to his belly.

Rides-Fire takes a halting step sideways as the Fianna comes out of frenzy, totally failing to notice Kyle's actions while involved in his own pack melodrama. He gives a quelling--though not ungrateful--chuff to Ethan, as he stoops to briefly lock his taloned hand around this hispo's muzzle. With no more chastisement than that, the Stargazer makes his pained way to help the others in the caern itself, primarly with the captured Garou.

Heart-of-Fury pages to the room: Thanks for GMing.

Rides-Fire pages to the room: Thanks so much, Goose!

Long distance to the room: Three-Blades again thirds the motion. :) Great GMing Goose.

Shadow-of-Blood pages to the room: Thanks, Goose!

Finds-the-Lost stops up short once Heart-of-Fury stops. Maybe his words -did- have an effect, who knows. He leaves the cave skulkers to cave skulking, and goes with Rides-Fire to see over some of the unconscious Garou from this caern.

Little Bear pages to the room: How many of what are the prisoners?

Goose Spirit pages to the room: the caverns have various personal effects, though not very many of those at all. Mostly these people were totally feral, so they don't have a lot of 'stuff'

You paged the room with 'Do we get to keep any of it? :) (Hehe. j/k..)'.

Lion's-Roar remains lying on his back for a few more seconds, eventually rubbing his crinos forehead before finally getting into an upright position. ~God fucking dammit.~

Goose Spirit pages to the room: If you want to. Probably a couple talens in there, etc.

Chaser comes out of the caverns a short time later. She looks ill-tempered, but not quite as irritated as before the fight.

You paged the room with 'Stuff. Stuff is good. What's to become of the 5 alive?'.

Balancer pages to the room: we can hash that out later.

Little Bear pages to the room: Speaking of feral, how many of the prisoners are Uktena and how many Talon?

Thunder-Eater pages to the room: And, erm, how do we get back to the Walk?

From afar, to the room, Goose Spirit runs. +mail me with anything else y'all do, etc. It's a 2 day run in the umbra back to the caern.

Goose Spirit pages to the room: The prisoners profess to no tribe at all, stating that they are One, and past all that tribal nonsense. They are united under Gaia.

You paged the room with '2 days! :P Any useful talens then? :)'.

Balancer pages to the room: Can they be Cleansed, asks the half moon?

Shadow-of-Blood pages to the room: No, only corrupt Uktena talens.

From afar, to the room, Goose Spirit will get bacl to y'all about that. Yes, they can be.

Balancer pages to the room: Rawk.

Heart-of-Fury rolls onto his feet, surveying the remains of the fight with clear vision for the first time. He studies Thunder Eater in particular with obvious distaste.

Peacekeeper wanders around, checking out the wounded closely, seeing who needs healing or even--in the case of the Get--perhaps more healing.

Three-Blades comes out of the caverns with a couple of thonged talens and such, laying them at Peacekeeper's feet/paws. ~Talens, I think. Any chance I could get some of that healing 'mojo' of yours?~

Thunder-Eater shakily rises to his feet. He returns the now-empty bone cup to a pocket and staggers over towards Chaser and Mule. The Modi remains awfully wounded, but that isn't what seems to be hampering his movement.

Little Bear exits the cave shortly after Yi, not looking happy. He checks on the prisoners again, then looks over at Peacekeeper. ~ What do we do? ~

Chaser jerks her muzzle upward at Thunder-Eater. ~Be still. Something poisons you?~

Peacekeeper touches Three-Blades lightly, the soft white glow covering her form for a moment as her skin seals somewhat and her wounds close. To Little-Bear, he replies succenctly, ~We wait. Some of those left from Last Days, some few from Gaia's Bones, and a couple of Garou from Western Eye will be here tonight to watch the caern. They will also take care of these remaining Garou. After they get here, we leave.~

Little Bear narrows his eyes at the 'take care of' comment, but doesn't object. ~ Will they cleanse the caern and its people also? ~

Thunder-Eater shakes his head at Chaser's query, ~Not really. No.~ He seems dazed nonetheless.

Three-Blades sits down with a dip of her head, chuffing most gratefully to the Alpha as she perks her ears to his words. Her eyes wander towards the fallen, lips pulling back in a bit of a wince at just how much destruction and taint the caern has taken.

Balancer emerges out of the cavern. ~They will be the ones re-educating these Garou, then, and not us?~

Peacekeeper nods as he works his way around the group. ~The Garou from Last Days will care for the caern itself; they have proven to do so well before. The ones from Western Eye will be in charge of the Garou we have captured. If you honestly think you have the resources available, you may try to bring one back with us.~

Balancer pauses to consider this. ~It is not the matter of resources, it is primarily a wish that we not ignore those in need, who we have taken responsibility for. But I take your point.

Peacekeeper eyes Thunder-Eater as the Gaian passes near the Get. ~Do you need further healing before we continue?~ he asks politely, looking carefully at the fostern.

Little Bear's jaw works, glancing down at the prisoners again. He neither confirms nor denies Balancer's explanation. ~ What sort of tribes will be coming from these other caerns? ~

Three-Blades licks the tip of her muzzle, getting back up and nudging Little Bear with a chuff. ~Thanks for your help. I owe you one,~ she rumbles softly, not completely interrupting the Wendigo's further questions.

Lion's-Roar grumbles to himself for a moment. Now that the fighting is done, he finds himself alone once more. He manages a painful shift to the hispo form, his presently ruined frame eventually getting to its feet and looking to lumber away into a more secluded spot.

Little Bear nods, giving Yi's remaining wounds a cursory inspection.

Peacekeeper, waiting on Thunder-Eater's answer, responds to Little-Bear, ~A variety. There will be those who follow Fenris Wolf, some who follow Falcon, some who follow Unicorn, and some who follow Uktena. Does that meet with your approval?~

Three-Blades paces around one of the lupus born Garou of the caern, nudging the fallen with a short touch of her muzzle and eliciting a short whine from the wolf. Her tail twitches curiously as she chuffs a short sorry before glancing back up at the others.

Thunder-Eater, distracted, takes a moment to answer Peacekeeper. ~If there's a chance at a fight, yeah. I could use the Touch.~

Little Bear nods at the last, shoulders relaxing. ~ Just wondered, that's all. ~ He takes a trip around the caern, looking at the utter mess with a shake of his head.

Peacekeeper nods once again, reaching out to touch the Get's shoulder momentarily, letting the healing glow flow over the other ahroun. The Warder continues on around, stopping at Lion's-Roar. ~Do you need healing before we leave?~

Three-Blades accompanies Little Bear on the round about the caern, and finally settles with shifty relaxation in a center spot to simply gaze about. ~Whatever that thing was, it sure took a lot of mountain cats and deer.~ This growled out softly, with a gaze cast towards the frothy pool and waterfall.

Thunder-Eater shifts irritably even as Gaia's healing drifts over him. Pink flesh reappears, covering the grey-white bone that the acid had lain bare.

Little Bear frowns, stopping to stand by Three-Blades and nodding. Something's got him brooding (well, a bit more than usual). ~ I need to talk to Soulcatcher-rhya about this. ~

Lion's-Roar is busily staring at the pool with a look of condemning hatred. What's left of an ear does tilt towards the Warder, though, and eventually he stands his partially dissolved body up with effort. He doesn't answer Peacekeeper, his eyes still solidly on the pool, but he is standing within the Warder's reach.

~If Soulcatcher needs another witness, I'll go with you. This sort of thing may call for a full examination of our own caern and its wilds.~ Her gaze continues to look about, mostly riveting at the waterfall, the pool, and noticing how uncanny it is that the Hidden Walk has its own pool and waterfall like such.

Peacekeeper reaches over to touch the Get ahroun as the healing glow one more time flows out and over the other Garou, causing flesh to regrow and muscles to knit once again.

The Warder then settles down to wait for a bit before the relief force arrives. Heart-of-Fury stands with his packmates, watching silently.

Peacekeeper pages to the room: Okay, I'm crashing. Presume that (given the prior warning) the Western Eye CoG/Uktena contingent probably arrived first, the same way you guys got there. (Well, Moon Bridge to Hidden Walk, then Attack Bridge here.) Then the Last Days people, then a few Furies and Fangs from Gaia's Bones.

Long distance to the room: Three-Blades salutes! :)

Lion's-Roar pages to the room: Thanks for the RP, French-Bob!

Heart-of-Fury pages to the room: OK. G'night.

Little Bear pages to the room: THanks guys. NIght!

You paged the room with 'Guess this means that we can't do anything on Friday, technically... since we're running to the caern.'.

Peacekeeper pages to the room: Night. :) Yup, Yi.

Heart-of-Fury pages to the room: That's what it means.

Long distance to the room: Three-Blades chuckles. Alrighty then! Thanks a bunch, each an every one of you. *turns off her log*